# TrueCV Production Deployment Guide

A low-budget guide to launching TrueCV as a professional, secure offering.

---

## Budget Summary

| Component | Monthly Cost | Notes |
|-----------|-------------|-------|
| Azure App Service (B1) | ~£10 | 1.75GB RAM, custom domain, SSL |
| Azure SQL (Basic) | ~£4 | 2GB, 5 DTUs - upgrade as needed |
| Azure Blob Storage | ~£1 | Pay per GB stored |
| Domain name | ~£10/year | .com or .co.uk |
| **Total** | **~£15-20/month** | Scales with usage |

Alternative: A single £5-10/month VPS (Hetzner, DigitalOcean) can run everything if you're comfortable with Linux administration.

---

## Phase 1: Pre-Launch Checklist

### 1.1 Stripe Setup (Required for Payments)

1. Create a Stripe account at [stripe.com](https://stripe.com)
2. Complete business verification (required for live payments)
3. Create two Products in Stripe Dashboard:
   - **Professional**: £49/month recurring
   - **Enterprise**: £199/month recurring
4. Copy the Price IDs (start with `price_`) to your config
5. Configure the Customer Portal:
   - Dashboard → Settings → Billing → Customer Portal
   - Enable: Update payment methods, Cancel subscriptions, View invoices
6. Set up webhook endpoint (after deployment):
   - Dashboard → Developers → Webhooks → Add endpoint
   - URL: `https://yourdomain.com/api/stripe/webhook`
   - Events: `checkout.session.completed`, `customer.subscription.updated`, `customer.subscription.deleted`, `invoice.payment_failed`
7. Copy the webhook signing secret to your config

### 1.2 External API Keys

| Service | Purpose | How to Get |
|---------|---------|-----------|
| Companies House | Company verification | [developer.company-information.service.gov.uk](https://developer.company-information.service.gov.uk) - Free |
| Anthropic (Claude) | CV parsing & analysis | [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com) - Pay per use |

### 1.3 Domain & Email

1. Register a domain (Cloudflare, Namecheap, or similar)
2. Set up a professional email:
   - Budget option: Zoho Mail free tier (5 users)
   - Better option: Google Workspace (£5/user/month)
3. Configure SPF, DKIM, DMARC records for email deliverability

---

## Phase 2: Infrastructure Setup

### Option A: Azure (Recommended for .NET)

#### App Service + Azure SQL

```bash
# Install Azure CLI, then:
az login

# Create resource group
az group create --name truecv-prod --location uksouth

# Create App Service plan (B1 = ~£10/month)
az appservice plan create \
  --name truecv-plan \
  --resource-group truecv-prod \
  --sku B1 \
  --is-linux

# Create web app
az webapp create \
  --name truecv-app \
  --resource-group truecv-prod \
  --plan truecv-plan \
  --runtime "DOTNETCORE:8.0"

# Create SQL Server
az sql server create \
  --name truecv-sql \
  --resource-group truecv-prod \
  --location uksouth \
  --admin-user truecvadmin \
  --admin-password <STRONG_PASSWORD>

# Create database (Basic = ~£4/month)
az sql db create \
  --name truecv-db \
  --server truecv-sql \
  --resource-group truecv-prod \
  --service-objective Basic

# Create storage account for CV files
az storage account create \
  --name truecvstorage \
  --resource-group truecv-prod \
  --location uksouth \
  --sku Standard_LRS
```

#### Environment Variables (App Service Configuration)

Set these in Azure Portal → App Service → Configuration → Application settings:

```
ConnectionStrings__DefaultConnection=Server=truecv-sql.database.windows.net;Database=truecv-db;User Id=truecvadmin;Password=<PASSWORD>;Encrypt=True;
ConnectionStrings__HangfireConnection=<SAME_AS_ABOVE>
Stripe__SecretKey=sk_live_xxx
Stripe__PublishableKey=pk_live_xxx
Stripe__WebhookSecret=whsec_xxx
Stripe__PriceIds__Professional=price_xxx
Stripe__PriceIds__Enterprise=price_xxx
Anthropic__ApiKey=sk-ant-xxx
CompaniesHouse__ApiKey=xxx
AzureBlob__ConnectionString=<FROM_STORAGE_ACCOUNT>
AzureBlob__ContainerName=cvfiles
```

### Option B: VPS (Budget Alternative)

A £5-10/month VPS from Hetzner, DigitalOcean, or Vultr can run everything:

1. Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
2. Install Docker and Docker Compose
3. Use the existing `docker-compose.yml` with modifications:

```yaml
# docker-compose.prod.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  web:
    build: .
    ports:
      - "5000:8080"
    environment:
      - ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT=Production
      - ConnectionStrings__DefaultConnection=Server=db;Database=TrueCV;User Id=sa;Password=${DB_PASSWORD};TrustServerCertificate=True
    depends_on:
      - db
    restart: always

  db:
    image: mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2022-latest
    environment:
      - ACCEPT_EULA=Y
      - SA_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD}
    volumes:
      - sqldata:/var/opt/mssql
    restart: always

  caddy:  # Reverse proxy with automatic HTTPS
    image: caddy:2
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile
      - caddy_data:/data
    restart: always

volumes:
  sqldata:
  caddy_data:
```

```
# Caddyfile
yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy web:5000
}
```

---

## Phase 3: Security Hardening

### 3.1 Application Security (Critical)

#### Secrets Management
- **Never** commit secrets to git
- Use Azure Key Vault or environment variables
- Rotate API keys quarterly

#### HTTPS Enforcement
Already configured in `Program.cs`:
```csharp
app.UseHsts();
app.UseHttpsRedirection();
```

#### Content Security Policy
Add to `Program.cs`:
```csharp
app.Use(async (context, next) =>
{
    context.Response.Headers.Append("X-Content-Type-Options", "nosniff");
    context.Response.Headers.Append("X-Frame-Options", "DENY");
    context.Response.Headers.Append("X-XSS-Protection", "1; mode=block");
    context.Response.Headers.Append("Referrer-Policy", "strict-origin-when-cross-origin");
    context.Response.Headers.Append("Permissions-Policy", "camera=(), microphone=(), geolocation=()");
    await next();
});
```

#### Rate Limiting
Add to `Program.cs`:
```csharp
builder.Services.AddRateLimiter(options =>
{
    options.GlobalLimiter = PartitionedRateLimiter.Create<HttpContext, string>(context =>
        RateLimitPartition.GetFixedWindowLimiter(
            partitionKey: context.User.Identity?.Name ?? context.Request.Headers.Host.ToString(),
            factory: _ => new FixedWindowRateLimiterOptions
            {
                AutoReplenishment = true,
                PermitLimit = 100,
                Window = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1)
            }));
});

// In middleware pipeline
app.UseRateLimiter();
```

### 3.2 Database Security

1. **Use strong passwords** (20+ characters, random)
2. **Enable Azure SQL firewall** - allow only App Service IP
3. **Enable Transparent Data Encryption** (on by default in Azure)
4. **Regular backups** - Azure does this automatically (7-day retention on Basic tier)

### 3.3 File Storage Security

CV files contain sensitive data:

1. **Private container** - never allow public blob access
2. **SAS tokens** - generate time-limited URLs for downloads
3. **Encryption at rest** - enabled by default in Azure Storage
4. **Consider encryption at application level** for extra protection

### 3.4 Authentication Security

Already using ASP.NET Identity with good defaults. Verify these settings:

```csharp
// In Program.cs - identity configuration
builder.Services.Configure<IdentityOptions>(options =>
{
    options.Password.RequiredLength = 12;
    options.Password.RequireDigit = true;
    options.Password.RequireLowercase = true;
    options.Password.RequireUppercase = true;
    options.Password.RequireNonAlphanumeric = true;
    options.Lockout.DefaultLockoutTimeSpan = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(15);
    options.Lockout.MaxFailedAccessAttempts = 5;
});
```

### 3.5 Stripe Webhook Security

Already implemented - verify signature on every webhook:
```csharp
// In StripeService.cs - this is critical
stripeEvent = EventUtility.ConstructEvent(json, signature, _settings.WebhookSecret);
```

---

## Phase 4: Compliance & Legal

### 4.1 GDPR Compliance (Required for UK/EU)

1. **Privacy Policy** - create and link in footer
   - What data you collect (CVs, email, payment info)
   - How long you retain it
   - User rights (access, deletion, portability)
   - Third parties (Stripe, Anthropic, Companies House)

2. **Cookie Consent** - add banner for analytics cookies

3. **Data Retention Policy**:
   - CVs: Delete after 30 days or on user request
   - Accounts: Retain while active, delete 90 days after closure
   - Payment data: Stripe handles this (PCI compliant)

4. **Right to Deletion** - implement account deletion feature

5. **Data Processing Agreement** - required if you have business customers

### 4.2 Terms of Service

Cover:
- Service description and limitations
- Acceptable use policy
- Payment terms and refund policy
- Liability limitations
- Dispute resolution

### 4.3 PCI Compliance

Stripe Checkout handles card data - you never touch it. This puts you in **PCI SAQ-A** (simplest level):
- Use only Stripe Checkout or Elements
- Serve pages over HTTPS
- Don't store card numbers

---

## Phase 5: Monitoring & Operations

### 5.1 Application Monitoring

#### Free Option: Application Insights (Azure)
```csharp
// In Program.cs
builder.Services.AddApplicationInsightsTelemetry();
```

#### Budget Option: Seq + Serilog
```csharp
// Already using Serilog - add Seq sink
Log.Logger = new LoggerConfiguration()
    .WriteTo.Seq("http://localhost:5341")  // Self-hosted Seq
    .CreateLogger();
```

### 5.2 Uptime Monitoring

Free options:
- [UptimeRobot](https://uptimerobot.com) - 50 free monitors
- [Freshping](https://freshping.io) - 50 free monitors

Set up alerts for:
- Homepage availability
- API health endpoint
- Webhook endpoint

### 5.3 Error Tracking

Add a health check endpoint:
```csharp
// In Program.cs
app.MapGet("/health", () => Results.Ok(new { status = "healthy", timestamp = DateTime.UtcNow }));
```

### 5.4 Backup Strategy

| Component | Backup Method | Frequency |
|-----------|--------------|-----------|
| Database | Azure automated backups | Continuous (7-day retention) |
| CV files | Azure Blob redundancy (LRS) | Automatic |
| Config | Git repository | On change |

For VPS: Set up daily database dumps to offsite storage.

---

## Phase 6: Launch Checklist

### Pre-Launch (1 week before)

- [ ] All environment variables configured
- [ ] Database migrations applied
- [ ] Stripe products created and tested
- [ ] Webhook endpoint configured and tested
- [ ] SSL certificate active
- [ ] Privacy Policy and Terms published
- [ ] Test complete user journey (signup → payment → CV check)
- [ ] Test subscription cancellation flow
- [ ] Error pages customised (404, 500)

### Launch Day

- [ ] Switch Stripe to live mode (change API keys)
- [ ] Verify webhook is receiving live events
- [ ] Monitor error logs closely
- [ ] Test a real payment (refund yourself)

### Post-Launch (First Week)

- [ ] Monitor for errors daily
- [ ] Check Stripe dashboard for failed payments
- [ ] Respond to support queries within 24 hours
- [ ] Gather user feedback

---

## Phase 7: Scaling (When Needed)

Start small and scale based on actual usage:

| Trigger | Action | Cost Impact |
|---------|--------|-------------|
| Response time > 2s | Upgrade App Service to B2/B3 | +£10-30/month |
| Database DTU > 80% | Upgrade to Standard S0 | +£15/month |
| Storage > 5GB | Already pay-per-use | Minimal |
| > 1000 users | Add Redis for caching | +£15/month |

---

## Quick Reference: Configuration Files

### appsettings.Production.json
```json
{
  "Logging": {
    "LogLevel": {
      "Default": "Warning",
      "Microsoft.AspNetCore": "Warning"
    }
  },
  "AllowedHosts": "yourdomain.com;www.yourdomain.com"
}
```

Sensitive values should be in environment variables, not this file.

---

## Support & Resources

- [Azure App Service Docs](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/)
- [Stripe Documentation](https://stripe.com/docs)
- [ASP.NET Core Security](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/aspnet/core/security/)
- [OWASP Top 10](https://owasp.org/www-project-top-ten/)

---

## Estimated Time to Launch

| Phase | Effort |
|-------|--------|
| Stripe setup | 1-2 hours |
| Infrastructure | 2-4 hours |
| Security hardening | 2-3 hours |
| Legal pages | 2-4 hours (use templates) |
| Testing | 2-4 hours |
| **Total** | **1-2 days** |

---

*Document version: 1.0 | Last updated: January 2026*